Strange 'Moving' Buoys

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hebdena

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Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

All,

Whilst crossing the traffic separation scheme off Holyhead on Sunday last, I spotted what looked like a standard orange fishing float type buoy a couple of points off the stbd bow. It appeared stationary at first but then appeared to move away quite rapidly and also looked like it has a yellow float attached which was being dragged behind it. We could tell it was moving as it had a very noticable 'bow' wave. Shortly afterward another one was spotted in the same position relative to the boat and moving in the same direction. Anyone seen anything like this? There was speculation amoungst the crew that it could have been a submarine or a tagged basking shark.

Regards.....................Andrew
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

It's the Tide flowing past the bouy!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Is this a wind up, and Iv'e just taken the bait /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

How far off the bow were they when first spotted? In which direction did they appear to move away? Did they keep moving until out of sight or..? Was the second one initially stationary too? Were there any other vessels about?
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

weird.....

I'm no expert here ('cept having watched Jaws /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif), but would have thought that a shark would take the buoy down rather than along?

Besides, who on earth would tag a basking shark in UK waters?
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

Certainly not a shark tag. I have no idea what it could be though. As a previous forumite suggested, it sounds like the tide, but then I sail in the Bristol Channel and the tides here are pretty fearsome.
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

There have been several sightings of UFOs lately, Unidentified Floating objects.

Otherwise tell us what medication you are on and where to get it from!
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

Could it be a diver with an SMB (surface marker bouy)? Could also be using a powered sumbersible, not that rare nowadays! Was there a RIB or dive boat in the area? But why would you dive in a traffic separation scheme?

Probably wrong but it was my first thought.
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

When first spotted they were a couple of points of the stbd bow maybe about 2 cables off. They moved off away from us at about 90 degrees to our course therefore in the opposite direction to the traffic lane we were crossing. It was quite choppy at the time so we lost sight of them quite quickly. There was a sports type fishing boat around at the time, sometimes stationary and sometimes zooming off at high speed to a different spot. We had a few pints of Guiness in Howth the night before but by this time 8 hours of fresh Irish sea air had well and truelly cleared our heads!

A.
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

Not tagged sharks as they use small electronic gizmos...yes they do tag them here. By the way if you see basking sharks would you mind reporting what you saw, where, when how many etc to the Marine Conservation Society in Ross on Wye.

Maybe they were sophisticated or over large long line (fishing) markerbuoys, especially as the sport fisher was nearby.
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

There is a lot of water exploration going on at the moment.

My navtex has a list of activites in the southcoasts water. However the main sub water activity is plymouth direction.
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

You do not say what size the buoy was. It/they could be ‘Tailbuoys’ marking the end of a seismic survey cable. The cable would not be visible as it’s towed usually between 5 and 7 metres below the surface. The towing vessel could be anything between 4 and 9 kilometres away. The small vessel you saw moving around in the area and dashing from spot to spot may have been a work boat maintaining the cable/s.
Most seismic surveys will involve 4 to 8 cables with the tailbuoys spaced around 100 metres apart. One buoy on the end of each cable and the cables spaced about 100 metres apart. I’ve often wondered what people think when they see half a dozen buoys all moving at 5 knots on a parallel course.
As I write this we a towing a single seismic cable in the south china sea, our tailbuoy is just 5 kilometres behind is making 4.23 knots with no apparent means of propulsion. It has a flashing light on it at night and is radioing it's position to us.
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

Did you have the radio on hebdena? I would have thought a seismic vessel or its chase boats would have started to get a bit worried if you were so close to the tail buoys! You didn't notice a vessel showing the restricted manouvering day shapes?
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

I would say the buoys were about 1 to 2 feet in diameter. As usual the VHF was on 16 and there were no nav warnings in force from Holyhead Coastguard at that time. Although we were in the southbound traffic seperation lane crossing at 90 degrees there was no other traffic around apart from the sports fishing boat.
Stranger things happen at sea so they say and I've seen some strange things in my time especially when I was a Deck Officer in the MN.

A.
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

Doesn't sound like any tailbuoys I know of, that's the seismic theory blown out then, and as Andy points out there would have been regular warnings broadcast on ch #16.
 
Re: Strange \'Moving\' Buoys

Was this the TSS off the Skerries or off the breakwater? Schmidt Salvage do a lot of training in Holyhead bay and I wonder if they had bouyed a semi-bouyant object for recovery which was moving underwater.The eddy in Holyhead harbour continues to flow well after slack water. Was the nearby vessel the Schmidt Cymran?
 
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